Odd October

It's hard to believe we're well into the second half of October - yes, the leaves are changing colour and falling....













 ...sycamore helicopters are whizzing down.....




.... michaelmas daisies are flowering

 ....and pumpkins are ripening ready for Halloween.....






but.....it's oddly warm....still almost summery today with sunshine and blue sky...



...the garden is still full of summer flowers; fuchsias, marigolds and sweet peas

....and yesterday I picked radishes, raspberries and courgettes at the allotment












In the evening I even sat outside, in a short-sleeved T-shirt, to watch the dramatic sunset!

Just to confuse even more, rosemary and jasmine that normally flower in the depths of winter have come into bloom already.











 For our family, the middle of next month traditionally brings snow to mark a wedding anniversary and birthday ....  it'll be an enormous shock if any falls this year.

October Wood

 October dawned bright and clear - the start of another warm, mostly sunny, day.

But the equinox has passed and despite the strange summery weather, the trees know it's autumn really...

Most mornings the Wood is misty and mysterious

And the view out over the Derbyshire hills already looks bleak.